Despite an abundance of success in boys and girls cross country, Siloam Springs has only sent one runner to compete in college in Sharon Jones' eight seasons as head coach.
That all changed on Wednesday when three Siloam Springs athletes signed letters of intent to run cross country at the next level.
Class 6A state champion Elliott Pearson made it official with John Brown, Aaron Capehart signed with Ecclesia, and Bethany Rodgers signed to walk-on at Southwest Baptist (Mo.).
"Since I've been here, Marcos Gutierrez is the only one we've had sign," Jones said. "So to have three in one year, we're thrilled."
Pearson was the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Male Runner of the Year for 2015 after finishing first in Class 6A. He'll make an immediate impact at JBU, according to JBU coach Scott Schochler.
"It's great for our program to sign one of the premier runners in Northwest Arkansas," Schochler said. "He's a much better quality young man than he is a runner. Just a great edition for our program all-around."
Pearson also joins the program that his dad, Matt Pearson, helped restart in 2010.
"Elliott has been in love with JBU his whole life," Jones said. "I think he's been looking forward to this moment for years. For him to have such a great season this year, knowing that he still had that to look forward to, I'm just really excited for him. ... He's deserving. There's none that works harder."
Capehart finished 14th at the Class 6A meet. He will run cross country and track at Ecclesia in Springdale.
Jones said Capehart, who's only run cross country for two seasons, missed the state team by just a few seconds as a junior but rallied to finish second overall.
"He's a good story of what a kid who is dedicated and works hard can do," Jones said.
Rodgers meanwhile was a part of back-to-back Class 6A state championship teams for the Lady Panthers in 2014 and 2015. She's looking forward to being a part of a successful cross country program at Southwest Baptist.
"I'll be moving from good team to another good team," she said.
"I'm really excited for Bethany," Jones said.
Sports on 02/07/2016